Message From the President & Secretary-Treasurer

AFSCME Family,

In August, we will once again gather for AFSCME’s International Convention — the highest governing body of our union, a gathering that is equal parts joyful celebration and serious business. 

This is our union’s 90th anniversary, and we have a lot of remarkable history to reflect on when we meet in Chicago later this summer. The small labor union founded in 1936 to protect the civil service in Wisconsin has grown into the Mean Green Machine, 1.4 million members strong across the country. 

This year we are facing attacks at a level unlike any in our history. Anti-worker politicians and their friends in the billionaire class are trying to slash the essential public services our communities rely on — the services AFSCME members proudly provide. They are inflicting pain on working families, all so the rich can get bigger tax cuts. 

But we know how to fight back, and that is exactly what we are doing — through the Get Organized campaign that we launched last year. When the administration came after AFSCME members, we fought them in court time after time — and we’ll continue to take them on every single time they target public service workers. When extremists in Congress passed the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” we mobilized with renewed energy and won big on Election Day 2025. And most importantly, we are growing like no other union. Tens of thousands of workers got organized and joined our union — because they saw the power that AFSCME brings to every fight and decided they wanted to be a part of it. 

As you may have heard, this will be our last Convention as elected officers. It has been the honor of our lifetimes to serve in these roles. But while leadership changes hands, the power remains exactly where it always has: with the courageous public service workers who make up this great union. 

It is because of you that our union is prepared for the challenges of the coming years. Because of you, AFSCME is, as our Convention theme says, Built for this Moment! 

As our union enters its tenth decade, we are all proud of everything we’ve accomplished and resolute in our commitment to continue building a union that will stand the test of time. That’s the work we will do together in Chicago beginning August 17 — we can’t wait to see you there.

In solidarity,